Streeting defends Starmer’s approach to Trump tariffs ahead of PM giving evidence to liaison committee – UK politics live
PM due to take questions on growth, international affairs and defence, and on welfare and health ahead of the Easter recess
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has been giving interviews this morning partly to promote an announcement about the NHS in England hiring more than 1,500 new GPs since October. In a news release, the Department of Health and Social Care says this has happened because of a rule change introduced by the government. It says:
When the government came into office, unnecessary red tape was preventing practices from hiring newly qualified GPs, meaning more than 1,000 were due to graduate into unemployment. At the same time, there were also 1,399 fewer fully qualified GPs than a decade prior, showing how years of underfunding and neglect had eroded GP services.
The government cut the red tape and invested an extra £82m to allow networks of practices to hire the GPs, with the funding continuing past this year thanks to the extra funding announced at the budget.
It is going to take time. We’ve just actually done a deal with GPs with a new contract, the first time that’s happened since the pandemic, and that will ensure that everyone in every part of the country can access services online, including appointment booking. So I think that will help.
But, ultimately, this is going to be a case of step by step, year on year, seeing an improvement.
Let’s certainly hope that, by the next general election, people feel that their experience of accessing general practice is wildly different and improved compared to when we came in.
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By Andrew Sparrow
Streeting defends Starmer’s approach to Trump tariffs ahead of PM giving evidence to liaison committee – UK politics live to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff | Patient Forums
PM due to take questions on growth, international affairs and defence, and on welfare and health ahead of the Easter recess
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has been giving interviews this morning partly to promote an announcement about the NHS in England hiring more than 1,500 new GPs since October. In a news release, the Department of Health and Social Care says this has happened because of a rule change introduced by the government. It says:
When the government came into office, unnecessary red tape was preventing practices from hiring newly qualified GPs, meaning more than 1,000 were due to graduate into unemployment. At the same time, there were also 1,399 fewer fully qualified GPs than a decade prior, showing how years of underfunding and neglect had eroded GP services.
The government cut the red tape and invested an extra £82m to allow networks of practices to hire the GPs, with the funding continuing past this year thanks to the extra funding announced at the budget.
It is going to take time. We’ve just actually done a deal with GPs with a new contract, the first time that’s happened since the pandemic, and that will ensure that everyone in every part of the country can access services online, including appointment booking. So I think that will help.
But, ultimately, this is going to be a case of step by step, year on year, seeing an improvement.
Let’s certainly hope that, by the next general election, people feel that their experience of accessing general practice is wildly different and improved compared to when we came in.
Continue reading...
By Andrew Sparrow
Streeting defends Starmer’s approach to Trump tariffs ahead of PM giving evidence to liaison committee – UK politics live to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff | Patient Forums
